In July 2019 the Reher Center hosted the students of the Rondout Neighborhood Center’s Read and Write Program for a four-day education pilot that explored the themes of immigration, community, work and bread in our neighborhood, past and present. Photo Credit: Veronica Fassbender.
This program was funded in part by the City of Kingston’s 2019 Participatory Budgeting allocation.
Day 1: Students toured Reher’s Bakery where they examined the Sunday List and learned to shape dough. They also examined historic objects to learn how historians think and how cooking and baking were different in the past.
Day 2: Students discussed their own immigrant backgrounds, met a fifteen year-old immigrant from the Gambia who helps out on his family’s rice farm, and became rice detectives to learn about different food traditions.
Day 3: Students took on the role of city planners to draw a proposal for an abandoned block. Following the program, Reher Center staff delivered their plans to Mayor Steve Noble.
Day 4: in a workshop led by Lara Giordano and JoAnna Ruisi of the D.R.A.W. program, students created collaged “recipes of ourselves” to reflect their unique identities.
